U.S. Embassy officials in Warsaw, Poland, under the Obama administration complained that Catholic Church doctrine is a major source of “homophobia” in the heavily Catholic country, according to diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks.

The messages from the American embassy in Poland’s capital, marked “sensitive but unclassified,” were part of a dump of over 250,000 official government documents by the anti-secrecy website.

An August 2009 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw dated criticized the Catholic Church as being central in promoting “homophobia” in the former Soviet-controlled country.

“The Catholic Church plays a significant role in the formation and propagation of anti-gay attitudes in Polish society, especially in rural areas,” states the communiqué entitled “Gay rights in Poland: long road ahead.”

Not explained is why the American embassy is involved in a matter of such sensitivity within a friendly nation.